M A I N   N E W S

Builder Channi booked
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, April 19
The Punjab Vigilance Bureau has booked two builders said to be close to a Punjab Minister and three Municipal Corporation officials for alleged evasion of composition fee in respect of alleged illegal buildings in the city.

While the builders Charanjit Singh Channi, Chairman of the C.T. Public School here his relative and aide Mohinder Singh, A.S. Tulli, then Senior Town Planner have not been arrested so far. Some middle-level civic body officials including Bhagwant Singh, Assistant Town Planner and Raj Kumar, then Municipal Town Planner were arrested last night. The arrested have been remanded in police custody till April 21 by a court here.

Channi and Mohinder Singh, according to the FIR of the Vigilance Bureau, here had caused loss of crores to the civic body by a huge school complex and a shopping complex in violation of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act allegedly with the blessings of top Congress leaders and in connivance of certain civic body officials. Though the Corporation authorities had slapped composition fee of Rs 22 lakh, alleged to be much below the original amount stated to be around Rs 1.30 crore, on C.T. Public School, but Channi did not deposit even the Rs 22 lakh composition fee. Since the corporation high-ups were alleged to be working in tandem with Channi, demolition of the illegal building, mandatory under the Act, was not carried out for over a year. Another huge commercial complex in the Model Town area also caused loss of Rs 50 lakh to the civic body, said the FIR.

Civic body officials also came under a cloud allegedly for slapping much less composition fee on the school owner by showing major part of the complex as part of a “Town Planning Scheme duly approved by the Punjab Local Bodies Department.” But, no such scheme existed on record. That the civic body officials concerned also tried to befool the VB officials during inquiry by giving written statements that major part of C.T. Public School was part of the “Town Planning Scheme”. The racket came to light when the new Municipal Town Planner in his statement to the Bureau stated that no such Town Planning Scheme was ever approved by the Local Bodies Department and even the resolution regarding the proposed scheme was left pending in the civic body meeting five years ago.

Then District and Sessions Judge M.M. Aggrawal had issued non-bailable arrest warrants against Channi for his alleged involvement in a murder case in February last year. Later, court proceedings were, stayed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Some Bureau officials claimed that “raids were being conducted to nab the accused,” but no serious effort was made to nab the two builders, known for proximity to a Punjab Minister and a senior Congress leader. The builders, according to the sources though were not available in their homes as per the Bureau officials, however, could be approached through more than one mobile phones they were carrying even till today morning.

A case has been registered against the accused under Section 420 of the IPC and various Sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.